Police: 14-year-old steals car, crashes on Parkway after leading officers on chase

Updated: Aug 13, 2012 - 7:12 AM

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Police: 14-year-old steals car, crashes on Parkway after leading officers on chase

PENN HILLS, Pa. - Police said a 14-year-old stole a car on Sunday then led officers on a chase that ended in a crash on a Parkway East ramp.

Investigators said the chase began when a man called 911 after he saw someone driving his friend's stolen vehicle on Rodi Road.

"My friend had called me and said, 'Melissa, where are you going? Why are you driving like a maniac?' At that point I said, 'That's not me. My car just got stolen.' He turned around and he started following the car," said Melissa Leon.

When officers caught up with the stolen car, the driver tried fleeing and led them onto a Parkway East ramp where he crashed and flipped several times.

Channel 11's Dave Bondy spoke to the mother of the 14-year-old accused of stealing the car. She said what her son did was wrong, but the owner of the car made it too easy for her car to be stolen.

"My son was wrong for taking that vehicle but someone jumped out of their car and a 14-year-old seen the opportunity to take the car. He didn't break the car to steal it. They left the keys in the car. I think as an adult we have some type of ownership to being responsible for our vehicles," the boy's mother said.

Troopers said the chase was called off before the teen flipped the jeep on the Parkway East. The boy's mother said she doesn't think police should have followed her son.

"He had to no right to chase my son. It could have been a situation where maybe it was just a joyride down the street. Maybe he wanted to go further than he felt like walking," she said.

The teen was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital where he is listed in critical condition.